Mulberry Magic

Submitted by spicedocadmin

on Thu, 07/07/2011 - 03:30

This last weekend I was lucky enough to be invited over to a friend's home on a bright sunny day to go wild and pluck as many mulberries, mulberry leaves, and mulberry twigs as I wished from her mulberry tree. Nevertheless, I was quite tame and only took a little for my home medicinal purposes as I'll be leaving to live in China again soon to continue my work and study on yao shan, a.k.a. medicinal cooking.

Mulberry trees grow rampant throughout Chicago and around the surrounding areas, and we are right smack in the middle to end of the fruiting season for them in the Midwest. If you are lucky enough to have a mulberry tree in your backyard where ever you may be, don't A) cut it down! and do B) use it for home remedies! In China, the mulberries I encountered are of the black mulberry species, Morus nigra (a much longer, tighter, sweeter fruit), whereas this mulberry tree (Morus alba, native to E. Asia but naturalized in urban areas of the E. USA) was fruiting white mulberries with purple spots as they matured and is still sweet but milder.

In Chinese Medicine, the mulberry tree is full of medicinal uses (a total of seven medicinals are derived from it). The bark, berries, leaves, twigs, silk worms & their droppings (silk worms feed on mulberry leaves), and a parasitic plant of the mulberry are all found in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Materia Medica.

Below is the list of the seven medicinals found on the mulberry tree, you can use Kamwo Pharmacy's online herbal directory to read more details :

*note, for those who aren't TCM practitioners some of the language used to describe the functions is specific to TCM, here is a key for a few of them ('tonify' = enhance, improve function of; 'wind-heat' = a cold presenting with heat signs; 'cool' = in TCM cooling herbs treat 'hot' conditions and vice versa ; 'wind-dampness' = can manifest as a moving arthritic pain ; 'dispels' = rids of/releases ; 'wind-damp-heat' = moving arthritic pain with heat signs; 'harmonize' = soothes)

For the purpose of using these at home, if you are a layman and not a TCM practitioner, there are a multitude of possibilities. You can simply eat the mulberry fruit to your delight, unless you suffer from loose stools or a 'cold' stomach. You can also make a medicinal wine out of the mulberry fruit, here is a recipe you can use to base it on. You can dehydrate the berries and powder them and make a tincture OR powder them to use in a hot tea for when you are suffering from a dry constipation or a scanty menstrual cycle. You can cut some twigs with the leaves attached and hang them to dry from somewhere up high in your kitchen (as I do) and then use the dried twigs or leaves for the purposes listed above. Usually, these medicinals are used in formulas in TCM in conjunction with other herbs, but using them individually for acute specific conditions can help as well in the forms of medicinal wines, teas, and tinctures.

As a general rule of thumb if you are going to use a tincture, the dosage would be a few drops (3-5) 2-3 times per day. If you are using a medicinal wine, then a small shot glass worth 1-2 times per day is sufficient. If you are using powdered herbs in a tea, 1-2 tsp/per cup of tea, 2-3 times per day. Dosages vary according to the condition, your size, and your constitution. For more complex or delicate conditions, please consult an herbalist or medical doctor.

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Disclaimer: While this site has been created by a licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist, it is not a medical site. Information on this page is provided on a "best efforts" basis for interest only and does not constitute personal advice. Please consult a medical doctor, acupuncturist, or nutritionist if you are in need of a more detailed individual diagnosis and nutrition plan.